Drug task force arrests suspected dealer following Amherst search
By Brandi Makuski
A Wisconsin Rapids man has been charged with 12 counts of drug-related offenses following a January investigation by the Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force.
Daniel C. Chapman, 35, was charged this week with a dozen felonies, most as a repeat offender. He made his initial appearance in Portage Co. Circuit Court from the Stanely Correctional Institution, where he’s been held on a probation hold.
Working with confidential informants, local detectives from the task force covertly recorded Chapman selling methamphetamine during a series of controlled buys at various locations across the region in January. According to the criminal complaint, investigators say they recorded Chapman selling just over 137 grams of methamphetamines between Jan 11 and 27, 2021.
He was found in possession of several small bags, ostensibly to sell, containing a total of more than 30 grams of meth and over 50 grams of THC, upon arrest, the complaint said.
A search of Chapman’s vehicle uncovered burner cell phones and a vape pen containing THC wax in the center console, as well as liquid THC and a partial marijuana cigarette hidden in the front driver’s side door panel.
Investigators executed a search warrant on Chapman’s home on Jan. 27 on the 9900 block of County Rd. KK in the Town of Amherst. According to the complaint, the search uncovered $228 and 2.4 grams of marijuana under the mattress, and 1.5 grams of marijuana in a nightstand drawer. More THC, in the form of bud, wax, and liquid, was found in various containers throughout the home and inside a safe, totaling 172.3 grams.
Detectives also found pills of Quetiapine Fumarate, an antipsychotic, and Adderall, on a windowsill in the home, and snort straws, smoking pipes, a digital scale, and several baggies used to parcel drugs for sale in other spots of the home.
A search warrant was also executed on a storage unit that Chapman alone had access to, where police found a safe containing 40.9 grams of meth, 75.2 grams of marijuana bud, 34 grams of THC wax, and 3 grams of THC liquid.
Chapman also faces additional felony drug charges in Wood Co. and was previously convicted of drug-related felonies in Marathon Co. in 2018.
In Portage Co., he’s charged with four counts of manufacture/deliver amphetamine, 10-50 grams; one count of manufacture/deliver amphetamine, more than 50 grams; two counts of possession with intent to distribute amphetamine, more than 50 grams; two counts of possession with intent to deliver THC, more than 200 grams; two counts of maintaining a drug trafficking place, and one county of manufacture/deliver THC, more than 200 grams.
If convicted on all Portage Co. counts, he faces a maximum sentence of over 180 years in prison, loss of his driver’s license for up to six years, and more than half a million dollars in fines.
He returns to court on July 19.
The Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force is a network of 15 law enforcement agencies spread across eight counties—including Portage—funded in part with federal grants and administered through the state.
